Mysterious New Member
by ThisPerson1
Summary: While coming through an Earth portal, BF5 accidentally reveals themselves to a girl driving through the Salt Flats. They offer her a spot on the team and she accepts. But something about her just seems off, like she's hiding something. She also seems to have a thing for Tezz. Tezz/OC. Some Vergura, and maybe even some Zoom vs. Stanford over Grace.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first BF5 fanfic. I came up with this a little while ago. I don't own BF5 or any characters except my OC. Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy.**

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"That's one more win for us! Way to go team! Let's head back home." Vert congratulated his team on a job well done. They had succeeded in securing yet another battle key from the Vandals. Vert rode through the portal followed by Zoom, Agura, Sherman and Spinner, and AJ. They burst out of the portal in the middle of the Salt Flats and Zoom grabbed the key.

"Well, that takes care of that." Zoom tossed the key in the air, caught it, and slapped it to the front of the Chopper. "Hey, anyone up for some pizza?" He stopped smiling when no one answered. "What's your problem?"

"Uh, Zoom, we've got unexpected company." When Agura said this Zoom thought that a Vandal had slipstreamed behind them, but when he turned around he saw something far from it. A black muscle car was sitting right there in front of them, passenger side facing them like the car had skidded to a stop. It probably did since five 'unique'-to say the least-vehicles flying out of an inter-dimensional portal in the middle of the desert would cause anyone to jam on brakes.

"Um, Vert, I hope you've got an idea." Despite speaking through the radio, Spinner kept his voice low. "Oh man. What are we gonna do? This guy knows our secret. He could tell everyone and we'd really be in for it."

"Relax big bro. I'm sure we'll figure out something. But we're not gonna get anywhere just sitting inside our cars. Let's go talk to him."

"Sherman's right guys. If we just sit here he could drive off and expose us. And besides, for all we know he could've been asleep or something."

"I kinda doubt that, Vert." Agura smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Well, we won't know until we talk to him." He said while getting out of the Saber. He strode over to the car followed by Zoom. "Uh, hello? Anyone in there?"

"Hey dude, open up. We don't bite." Zoom tapped on the window and it rolled down.

"And just who do you think you're calling a dude?" A girl with brown hair and blue eyes, who was obviously fond of the color because she wore a light blue hoodie, jeans, and a light blue crystal necklace on a silver chain, peered out the passenger window.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that." Zoom's face was tinted a slight shade of red. Although, judging by the slightly embarrassed faces of his teammates, he wasn't the only one who felt stupid for making that mistake. It was impossible to tell since the windows were tinted and it really did look like a guy's car.

"It's alright. Happens all the time. I guess that's what you get when you're driving your dad's car around." She stepped out and leaned on the top of the car.

"That's your dad's car huh? Pretty sweet set of wheels."

"Yeah! That thing is awesome!" AJ had come over with the others and was showing his usual enthusiasm.

"Thanks. Those are some...interesting cars you've got there. Do you mind explaining how they came flying out of a portal?"

"W-what? Nooo, you were just seeing things. Heh." Spinner knew this wouldn't work but felt it was worth a shot.

"Uh huh. Even if I was seeing things, that wouldn't explain the car over there and why it has a _snow_ plow in the _desert_."

"Oh, well this is a different kind of desert..."

"Spinner..."

"What? I'm just trying to help."

"I apologize for my brother. Sometimes you'd think I was the older one."

"You're not? Huh. That's new. Oh, I'm Diana Linden by the way." She finally moved from her spot and made her way to the Battle Force, offering to shake hands with Vert.

"I'm Vert Wheeler." He shook her hand and gestured to his team. "And this is my team. That's Sherman, Spinner, Zoom, Agura, and AJ."

"Hi. Sooo...what exactly do you do? I mean, those are some pretty high tech cars. And don't try to trick me because I know what I saw." Everyone looked at Vert, hoping he made a decision.

"We, uh..." He wasn't really sure where to start. "Listen, how about you just head back to our H.Q. with us and I'll explain everything there?"

"Alright. Lead the way." She shrugged and got back inside her car. The others did the same and soon they were all off, speeding towards the direction of BF5's secret H.Q. Upon arriving Stanford and Tezz looked up from their work. Well, Tezz was working, Stanford was just waxing Reverb.

"Ah, so you finally made it back. It certainly took you long enough. With all the extra time I had I managed to make Reverb completely spotless." He seemed quite proud that he had actually bothered to do something on his own. And in a way it sort of was an accomplishment for him, but it's not like Stanford would let anyone else touch his car anyway, so that cancels it out.

"Right, anyway it looks like we've got a new member." Zoom hopped of his bike and went over to Sage.

"A new member?" She asked, a bit surprised she wasn't informed. "Who are they?"

"Her name's Diana. And I'm sure she'll be a big help." Vert went to stand next to Agura while the others got out of their cars.

"Really?" Stanford strode over to her as she looked around at the huge underground base. "Hello luv." He said catching her attention. "My name is Stanford Isaac Rhodes and I-"

"You wouldn't happen to have a brother, would you?"

"Yes." He replied in a sour tone. "Do you know him?"

"Kinda. His name's Simon, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah I have met him before. I ran into him once and, uh, it doesn't seem like you two really get along."

"Not really, no."

"Well...if it makes you feel any better, his ego is way bigger than yours."

"Really? HA! Take that Simon!" Stanford gloated despite his brother not being there.

"I wouldn't say that." Agura's comment earned a few laughs and an annoyed look from Stanford.

"So. Who wants to tell me about all this?" She gestured to the Hub.

"Okay so, to shorten it up a little, we basically fight off evil aliens to save the planet." Spinner's version was indeed the shorter way of saying it but it did get to the point.

"If you want to know the whole story, in detail, maybe you should talk to Sage." Agura introduced Diana to the Blue Sentient. Sage explained everything to Diana from the Sark to the Reds. She listened to every detail and didn't hesitate to agree in joining the BF5.

"Y'know, you don't have to join right away. I mean, if there's stuff you need to take care of first..." Vert was happy for the extra help, but he didn't want to push her into something she didn't want to do.

"I'm sure. Besides, I got nothing better to do anyway."

"Alright. So all we have to do now is get you a car. Sage will just scan you and turn you old car into a new one."

"Whoa, whoa...wait a minute. Is there any way that you could just...build the car from scratch?"

"Uh sure but...don't you want to upgrade that one?" Vert was rather surprised that she wanted to keep the older car, but it wasn't his choice anyway.

"No. It just kinda, means something to me, y'know?"

"But why would you want to keep that car instead of a much more efficient one?" Tezz spoke up for the first time since Diana arrived.

"I just told you why. It has too much sentimental value to me." She folded her arms and gave Tezz a look. It wasn't angry, it was more of a 'what's wrong with that?' look. He didn't say anything back, instead he just headed off somewhere else. "Okay then..."

"Don't mind him. He's just one of those overly serious people." AJ patted her on the shoulder, and to Diana it did explain the whole 'walking away in a huff' thing.

"Well, now that that's settled. You ready for your new ride?" Zoom wanted to brighten up the mood a little by showing some enthusiasm.

"Totally." Diana as given a Shock Suit, obviously blue, and a car to match. "So, is that it?"

"To complete the upgrade, you have to name your vehicle."

"Hmmm...Whiplash!" Stanford gave his usual grunt of indifference.

"Welcome to the team." Agura said.

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**A/N: Please review and I will try to update regularly although it probably won't happen. And to save myself the trouble of trying to incorporate this into the story, I will explain Diana's car here. It has two turrets under the hood (don't ask me how any of this works because I don't know how to explain any of it and I'm probably gonna have to make references to other cars I know of so you get the point) that come out similar to Reverb's but there is no hatch; they just pop up (like Mutt's from Motorcity) that fire energy beams and can also form electro whips (like Zemerik has). Well, there ya go.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay in this chapter I will try to add some action.**

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"This place is awesome. I can't believe you guys actually live here."

"If you think this is cool, just wait till you see the Battle Zones. They're even cooler!" AJ was currently showing Diana around the base. Since anything exciting had yet to happen, he volunteered to give her a tour.

"Hey, where's that other guy work? What's his name?"

"You mean Tezz? He's in his lab where he always is. It's right over there." AJ pointed down the hall.

"Hey AJ! I need to make a couple of minor upgrades to the Buster. Since Spinner's 'busy' playing video games I thought I'd ask you for help." Sherman appeared at the end of the hall obviously annoyed that Spinner had left him to work on the tank.

"Yeah sure. I'll finish showing you around later O.K.?"

"It's fine." AJ left and Diana figured she might as well go talk to Tezz about why he seemed so annoyed by her keeping her other car. The doors opened and she walked in quietly just in case he was working on something. Despite her quietness he still heard.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Jeez. I just came to say hi."

"Hello."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"What? You said you wanted to say hi, and now you've accomplished that." Tezz continued to work, and Diana stood there trying to think of how to make conversation.

"So... what are you working on?"

"Something you couldn't possibly understand."

"What, you think because I'm not as smart as you are I'm stupid?"

"No. But you just wouldn't understand."

"You could at least tell me what it is."

"Fine. I am working on a particle accelerator."

"O.K."

"You have no idea what that is, do you?"

"Well... not... necessarily." Diana stood there slightly embarrassed by that. She wasn't exactly good with that kind of stuff.

"Precisely. Like I said, you wouldn't understand." Tezz turned back around to continue working on the device.

"But... you didn't give me a chance to." That made him stop for a moment.

"What?"

"You said I wouldn't understand it, but you never explained it to me to see if I would." Diana knew she may have had a point. You can't just tell someone they won't get something when you haven't explained it to them. Tezz opened his mouth to say something but Sage interrupted over the intercom.

"Battle Force Five. I have located a Re-Spawn Chamber. Destroying it would be a great victory for us."

"I guess we'd better get going." Diana left the lab and Tezz eventually followed. Vert and the others were already there.

"You ready for your first mission, Diana?" Vert was getting into the Saber.

"Oh yeah. I was born ready."

"How could you possibly be born ready when you didn't know about any of this until recently?"

"It's an expression genius. What happened to that program you had?" Stanford wasn't the only one who rolled his eyes at this.

"That program is on my car's computer. And I'm not in my car."

"You are now. It's me, you, Zoom, Diana, and the Cortez brothers. Let's go!" Vert sped off followed by the Buster, Chopper, Whiplash, and Splitwire. Even though this was her first mission, Diana wasn't very nervous. She was actually looking forward to it. It was something exciting to do and she loved helping people, so saving the world and an entire multiverse was even better. Within no time they had made it through the portal and were in what appeared to be a series of caves.

"Why can't the Reds ever put their Re-Spawn Chambers in a less creepy place? Why not a nice beach or something?" Spinner wasn't thrilled over the Zone they were in, and neither was everyone else. It was difficult to see, and with all the tunnels, the chamber could be anywhere. Not to mention that Krytus and his Reds probably knew the place better than they did and could ambush them at any moment.

"Be on the lookout guys. We don't know where Krytus is."

"Hopefully he won't know we're here and this'll be easy for once." Zoom was looking in every possible place where the RS5 could be hiding.

"Doubt it. It's never easy. Hold on, I've got it. It's directly ahead."

"I have the coordinates too. It was not very difficult to find."

"Which is a major issue. Sherman, Tezz, take the lead but be on the lookout." Vert allowed them to go in front and after a few minutes they were almost there. Something wasn't right though. How could they have come all this way and not run into a single Red Sentient or even Sark?

"Uh... is it always this calm? The way you made it sound I was expecting to get into a fight within the first five minutes of being here."

"Usually it's not, Diana. You're right. We should've ran into them by now." Vert slowed down a bit.

"Yeah. We should've at least seen some Zurk or something. You want me to scout out the area?"

"No. If they really don't know we're here then we shouldn't alert them. Let's just destroy this thing and get outta here."

"Yeah. This place gives me the creeps." Spinner prepared to blow up Krytus's Re-Spawn Chamber.

"Wait. Doesn't something feel... off to you? I mean, I know it's my first mission and all but this just isn't right."

"Now is not the time for a hunch. We should destroy the Chamber now before we lose the chance."

"She's not the only one Tezz. This is all wrong." Vert stopped along with others. "Doesn't hurt to give it a shot though. Buster, fire a bomb but stay out of the cavern just in case it's an ambush.

"Right. One roasted Re-Spawn Chamber comin' right up." Spinner launched the explosive, but just as it was about to hit the Chamber a Zurk appeared and took the shot instead. Krytus and Kytren then appeared, while Krylox and Kyrosis drove out of the other two tunnels.

"So you thought you'd destroy my Re-Spawn Chamber humans? Get them!" Krytus ordered his Reds and Sark to attack and BF5 was forced to retreat. They were heading back the way they came when Kyburi dropped down from the ceiling and landed on Diana's car.

"So Battle Force Five has a new member?"

"Yup. And she doesn't appreciate you scratching her paint job." Diana fired two shots at Kyburi and was surprised at the strength of them. They sent Kyburi flying into a wall. "Awesome. Energy blasts make enemies go flying. That's good to know. AH!" Krylox rammed her and she did the same as Kyburi.

"You're not the only one who sends things flying human." Meanwhile, Vert was going head-to-head with Krytus. The lack of space wasn't giving him an advantage, but he did manage to nail the side of his car pretty good. A Sark rear-ended him and made him serve a bit.

"BF5! Head back to Earth!"

"Easier said than done Vert! Lookout bro!" Sherman dodged Kyrosis's fire rings just as they were about to hit them.

"There's too many! And we don't have the room to put up a good fight!" Sherman rammed a couple of Sark before Spinner fired a bomb at the quickly approaching group of them. Zoom was fighting Kytren and managed to kick him in the face before destroying a Zurk while he was distracted. The remaining parts of the car caused Kytren to crash and shatter his shell.

"One down. Four to go." He activated the Chopper's blades and sliced through some more Sark. Tezz's electromagnetism made it hard for the Sark to hit him, but not for Krylox. Just as he was going to hit him, Diana rammed the front of his car and both shot to the left. Krylox crashed into some rocks while Diana stopped short. His car caused a few more rocks to fall. Suddenly she got an idea. Using her whips, she cut through the stalactites above him causing them to fall and crack Krylox's shell. "Nice one Diana!"

"Thanks. Oh and you're welcome by the way." She drove past Tezz and continued to follow the others. He just grunted and went in the same direction. "Vert! How do we get outta here?"

"Just follow the Buster!" Vert and Krytus were side by side ramming each other while Sherman dodged more of Kyrosis's flames. Spinner was going to fire a bomb at him but Kyburi swerved in front of the Buster, causing Sherman to jam on brakes just as Spinner fired. The explosive missed Kyrosis by a longshot and almost hit Diana.

"Whoa! We're on the same side, remember?"

"Sorry about that Diana." This time, instead of using bombs, Spinner used a mace to hit Kyrosis. It didn't do much damage though. He just narrowly avoided it. Tezz launched an EMP at him and he flipped a few times before landing front-first against the wall. That didn't stop Kyburi from pinning down the Buster however.

"You're finished, human!"

"Tezz, why don't you and Zoom help Vert? I got this one."

"Are you sure Diana? Kyburi's pretty tough."

"Don't worry, I said I got it." Zoom shrugged and sped off to help Vert with Tezz close behind. Kyburi started to drain the Buster's energy. "Can you guys still lower your ramp?"

"Just barely." Spinner lowered it and Diana stomped on the gas. She hit the ramp and nailed Kyburi, sending her flying off the Buster.

"Gah!" She landed upside-down.

"Thanks Diana. Now let's get outta here before we run into anymore problems." Sherman and Diana drove off leaving Kyburi to try to get on her wheels. Krytus had hit Vert hard enough to make him spin out and crash onto some rocks.

"This is where you die, human!" He opened his windshield and formed his arm into a sword. He prepared to stab Vert, but was stopped when Tezz fired an EMP. It missed, but it was enough to make Krytus back off. Zoom tried to hit him with the Chopper but Krytus drove off. "This isn't over human! Next time, I WILL destroy you! Ahh!" Spinner latched onto him with a mace and spun him around once before releasing him behind the Buster.

"Just for good measure." He said. They headed back to Earth. That mission had been a failure. When they got back to the Hub, Sage immediately asked them if they succeeded in destroying the Re-Spawn Chamber.

"Unfortunately, no. We came close but Krytus ambushed us." Zoom hopped off his bike.

"Perhaps if you did not make us wait we would have succeeded." Tezz was heading towards his lab as he said this.

"Not so fast Tezz. Diana wasn't the only one who felt like it was strangely quiet. And besides, she did a pretty good job handling herself. She took out Krylox and landed two major hits on Kyburi."

"Yeah. And she saved your butt. So if anything you owe her a 'thank you'."

"I did not require her assistance."

"What?! If it wasn't for me you would've needed some medical assistance. Zoom's right. A 'thank you' would be nice." Diana folded her arms and Tezz just shrugged.

"If it makes you happy, fine. Thank you for 'saving' me." Despite the sarcasm in his voice, Diana still accepted it.

"You're welcome. See? That wasn't so hard." Tezz continued to head to his lab leaving the others confused.

"Okaaay... So you really took out Krylox on your first mission? That's great!" AJ congratulated her, followed by the others.

"Aw. It's nothing really."

"Oh it's something alright. I say we go to Zeke's and celebrate!" Stanford was quick to suggest a small party for their newest member. Even though they failed the mission, Diana still proved herself an excellent fighter.

"Oh, alright." She smiled even though she was still slightly upset by Tezz's behavior. _"I don't know what I did to tick him off."_ She thought. The team, minus Tezz, headed out to Zeke's to get some pizza.

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**A/N: Well this took a while. Anyway, please review. And since I forgot to mention this before, Whiplash was built using the Tangler's Sentient Chip since Reverb's was taken. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter really isn't gonna have a lot of action but it will be kind of interesting. Lots of Diana/Tezz.**

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The team arrived at Zeke's Diner. They headed inside and weren't surprised to find it empty except for Zeke, Grace, and Sheriff Johnson. The team crammed into one of the booths. "This place may not look like much but the food is great! Hey Grace! Can we get a large pepperoni pizza?"

"Sure thing, Spinner!" She was already in the back doing just that, since that was their usual order.

"Nice place." Diana commented. "So I guess you come here often huh?"

"Yeah. Think of it as a hangout. We come here to celebrate victories and stuff. Or in your case, a job well done. Great work, takin' down Krylox like that."

"I already told you, Zoom. It was nothing. Just some quick thinking. You guys don't need to praise me for it." Diana blushed. She wasn't really used to people praising her over something she felt was trivial.

"Quick thinking or not, it was still impressive. Making you a part of the team was a great decision. And thanks for joining by the way." Vert stopped talking as soon as Grace appeared with the pizza.

"Here you go. Who's this?" She asked, seeing Diana.

"Oh, this is Diana. She's new here. We figured we'd show her around town. Diana, this is Grace. Grace, Diana."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Grace stuck out her hand and Diana shook it. "Well, I've gotta go clean up the kitchen. You guys can just call if you need anything else." She walked into the kitchen. They began to dig into the pizza.

"Mmm. This is good." Diana took another piece after she finished the first one.

"If you think this is good," Spinner mumbled with his mouth full of pizza. "Just wait till you try the pie." They ordered some pies, and spent the evening at the diner, talking and having a good time. It wasn't until they headed outside to their cars that they realized how long they'd been out. They returned to the base and everyone turned in for the night.

The next morning, since there was nothing else to do, Diana headed back towards Tezz's lab. She was determined to find out what his problem was. "Hey Tezz. How come you didn't wanna come with us yesterday? It was pretty fun."

"I have no time for 'fun'."

"Okay, look. What is your problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're being a total jerk! That's what I mean." He didn't respond. "Still working on that particle accelerator of yours?"

"Yes."

"Y'know, you never did tell me what it does."

"To put it in a way that you would understand, it accelerates particles."

"Of what? Your brain?" He stopped working immediately after hearing this. Diana wasn't necessarily trying to be rude, but she was beginning to get frustrated with his behavior. "Y'know something, Tezz? You're not as smart as you think."

"And just what would you know about that? I am certain that my I.Q. is much higher than yours."

"Oh, I'm certain that it is too. But that wasn't my point. My point is that you may be tech smart and stuff, but you're pretty stupid when it comes to anything else." He scoffed. "Don't get an attitude! You didn't even understand what I said earlier without having to consult a computer. You have terrible people skills, you're kinda anti-social, and you can't even admit your mistakes."

"I do not make mistakes."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Then you're saying you're not human."

"I am human."

"Well then, if humans are imperfect, how can you say you're perfect? Think about it. Humans are imperfect beings. You say you don't make mistakes, but that you're human. You're contradicting yourself. And it doesn't really matter if you were human, because apparently, aliens make mistakes too. Take Krytus for example. He underestimated us, didn't he? And by the sounds of it that wasn't the first time he's underestimated this team. If he was perfect, he would've already won. And do you wanna know what else?" She didn't wait for an answer. "You're making a mistake right now. By saying you never screw up, you won't ever learn from your mistakes. To you, this might not make much sense but, making mistakes is the best way to perfection. When you mess up, it was because you didn't know something. Afterwards you learn what you did wrong and not to do it again. But when you deny the fact that you make mistakes, you don't learn from them and you end up making the same ones over and over again. Don't you see it? Now, don't take this the wrong way but, you seem a little arrogant and you have _way _too much pride in your intelligence. You're not perfect, Tezz. You're making the same mistakes all the time and you don't even know it. If you were really perfect, then you'd have seen this ages ago. And frankly, I'm surprised that you haven't burst your own bubble with your ego. Of course, popping it may help you think straight." Diana then left, leaving Tezz utterly shocked.

"How could someone who is obviously nowhere near my I.Q. possibly best me in a logical argument? Unless...she's smarter than she's saying. But then why would she hide that? Hm. The only way to figure out whether or not she is hiding some kind of high intelligence is to do a little research."

Meanwhile, Diana had wondered aimlessly around the Hub feeling like an idiot. She just insulted the guy she liked and probably ruined all her chances of being with him. Eventually, she ran into Agura.

"Hey Diana. Wanna come hang in the game room with Zoom, Spin, and me? Zoom challenged Spinner to a game of Slugbots. Loser has to do the other's chores for a week."

"Nah. I think I'll go work on my car or something."

"What's wrong?" The tone of Diana's voice wasn't very cheerful like it usually was.

"I...uh...don't think Tezz likes me very much."

"Oh c'mon. He'll get used to you being around."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh. I understand. Don't worry, Tezz just isn't very good at expressing his feelings. You're a nice girl, I'm sure he likes you."

"I don't. I kinda told him off a few minutes ago."

"Did he deserve it?"

"Well, sorta." She knew he did have it coming, but it still felt wrong to her. She tried to convince herself otherwise by saying he shouldn't have been such a jerk to her in the first place.

"Then there ya go. He'll get over it. What'd you tell him anyway?"

"Basically that he was a jerk and his ego is too big." Agura laughed a little.

"That's it? We tell him that all the time. He'll cool off. If you need me I'll be in the game room." She walked off and Diana went to go work on her other car. Just because it wasn't going to be driven as much doesn't mean it should just sit there and rot. After checking it over she found that it didn't need any work done on it. Figures. She needed something to get her mind off of earlier and wanted to be alone and her car couldn't be broken or something.

"Stupid car." She muttered. She wasn't really mad at the car, just herself. Sighing, she sat on the hood. "Why did I have to say that? I go in there to see why he was being a jerk and I insult him. Maybe I should try to apologize or something." She decided that next time she saw Tezz she'd be a bit nicer and try to make up. She couldn't really stay mad at him anyway.

After going through every possible way to figure out how smart Diana really was, Tezz sighed in defeat when he came to the conclusion that he was going to have to speak to her personally. He walked out of his lab to look for her. He checked every other room in the Hub and was heading to the kitchen, but grunted in annoyance when he only saw Spinner. "Hey, Tezz. What are you doing in here? I didn't think you'd come out of your lab for at least another hour or two." The older Cortez brother sniggered.

"I am looking for Diana. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah. Well, no. Agura said she was gonna go work on her car or something."

"I have already checked. She was not working on Whiplash."

"Nooo. Her other car. The one she wanted to keep. We moved it into the shop, remember? Well, I gotta go finish kicking Zoom's butt at Slugbots. A little bit longer and I'll be chore-free for the next week." He headed off to the game room carrying a couple of energy drinks while Tezz headed to the upper level, a.k.a. the shop. He walked in to find Diana absentmindedly cleaning her car's windows. With her back to him, she didn't realize he was there.

"Those windows are already clean." Diana jumped a little. She wasn't expecting him to just show up like that. Especially not after what she said.

"Hi Tezz. What brings you here?" He was slightly confused as to why she was suddenly in a good mood again, but simply dismissed it as her being a female, and that was something he wouldn't ever understand.

"Spinner informed me that you were here."

"Ah." There was an awkward silence, and Diana fidgeted a bit. Eventually she worked up the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing her. "Are you still...mad...about earlier?" He looked at her and noticed that she was staring at the floor. She seemed extremely nervous around him, and he wasn't entirely comfortable with it. He must've spent some time thinking about it, because she looked at him with a timid expression, probably worrying that he was angry and wasn't speaking to her.

"No." She sighed slightly, relaxing a little. She went back to sitting on the hood, and Tezz decided to sit on a stack of tires that was just randomly there. "You...may have had a point earlier. Perhaps I am too prideful in my own intelligence and too unwilling to accept others' help." She was stunned he was admitting any of this.

"Um...thanks." Another awkward silence fell between them, and Tezz found himself wishing that anyone, even AJ, would walk in and give him a reason to leave. He didn't want to leave her now because he would feel bad for it. He wasn't really sure why, but he didn't want her to think that he couldn't stand her. A few minutes passed and it was obvious that no one was coming to Tezz's rescue, so he decided to try and make conversation.

"You never did explain your reason for wanting to keep that car."

"Hm? Oh, right. Well, it's uh...complicated."

"I am a man of science. I think I can handle 'complicated'." And he was back to his old self.

"You see, I got it from my father. Before this...incident...happened."

"Is he dead?"

"No. He's very much alive but he's..." She trailed off and it looked like she may cry. But no matter how hard it was, she wasn't going to. Not in front of Tezz, or anyone for that matter. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry over it so much anymore. And he had asked her so she was going to answer. "In an asylum." Tezz looked up. He hadn't been expecting a response.

"Why?"

"It's a long story."

"I was not doing anything else today. And there have been no stormshocks. Please do continue."

"Well, there was this guy, that my dad had a bit of a rivalry with back in high school. The only reason that he even still knew about him later on was because my mom and the guy's wife were friends. Isn't it funny? The guys hate each other but the girls are just fine. I mean, they weren't as cold towards each other like in high school. They were more like 'frienemies'. Mostly because of their wives. But anyway, my parents' marriage wasn't exactly perfect. But then again, whose is? They had fights, and sometimes when it got really bad they'd throw 'low blows'. And if you don't know what that means, basically they'd say something that struck a nerve. Something that'd really get to you, y'know?" She sighed. "My dad would start hurling insults and my mom would always say she should've married Watson. That was the name of the other guy. One day they were really ticked off at each other. Why, I'll never know. I tend not to ask. I was in my room blaring music and reading a book, trying to block them out. I still heard the usual insults and then a door slammed. I went to go see what happened and saw my dad take off in his car. A different one than this." She patted the hood of the car she was currently sitting on. "We figured that he went to go cool off since he did that sometimes. Drive off, chill a little at a diner or something, and then come back and apologize. Well, after a while he didn't come back. Four hours to be exact. My mom called Theresa, Watson's wife, to see if she happened to see him or anything. She didn't answer, so my mom went to go over. She told me to stay home, but a few minutes after she left I went after her on my bike since my car was in the shop. I got there the same time she did, and she was gonna yell at me until she saw his car in the driveway." Diana started to sob, but still refused to shed a tear. "And I...I don't even know where he got the...gun...from, but when we went inside the other guy was dead. My dad shot him." Now her words were being forced out, like it was extremely hard to say them. "We found him in the bedroom, holding Theresa hostage with the gun to her head. He kept telling her to keep quiet, and when he saw us standing there...My mom was horrified, and I didn't know what to think let alone say. My mom told me to go call the cops while she tried to convince him to lose the gun. They came in no time and when they tried to arrest him, he just completely snapped and started shooting randomly. No one got hurt...physically. I just wish I could say the same about everyone's emotional state. We all changed then. I'm sure even the cops did. I mean, my dad just started laughing and shooting and you have no idea what it's like to see that. He even tried to shoot my mom and blame her for all of it. After the police saw his mental state, they decided to lock him in an asylum instead of prison. And that's why I keep the car he gave me." One tear fell down her cheek and she wiped off immediately.

"You keep the car to remind you that your father went crazy?"

"No! I keep it to remind of _before _that! He wasn't always like that. He used to be good man. Part of me wants to believe that he didn't mean any of it, and that he feels remorse and isn't a monster. But I went to go see him once. And that pretty much killed that hope. He's totally insane now. And I don't even know why. I asked him, but he just laughed. Not really insanely, but it was still creepy, to say the least." Tezz placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. He wasn't good with this sort of thing, but he felt bad for her. He hadn't seen his own father in years, so he could see where she was coming from.

"I am sorry about what happened to him."

"Thanks." She sniffed a little. "You know I still have nightmares? Not just about that, but about ending up like him. Most of the people from my old neighborhood knew not to bring it up, but others still did. I've had my fair share of insults and 'you're gonna end up like him' jokes. That's why I was way out here. I just...needed a break, y'know? I do plan on going back at some point though. Prove 'em all wrong. Hopefully."

"You should have no concern about that happening to you."

"But what if it's like...hereditary or something?"

"That is unlikely. And besides, you have shown no sign of doing such actions. And even if you did, I trust that you would take care of it."

"Thank you, Tezz. By the way, can we not tell anyone about this?"

"Gladly." Diana patted him on the shoulder before walking towards the elevator.

"I think I'm gonna take a nap." She said after she realized how emotionally drained she was. Tezz allowed a slight smile to form on his face before heading off to his lab. It was safe to say that despite the fact he hadn't found out much about her intelligence, they were at least on better terms. And both had a newfound respect for the other. Upon walking inside, he changed his mind and decided that his inventions could wait. He was in too much of a good mood to slave away in his workspace. He went to the game room instead. Maybe a little time with his other teammates would do him some more good.

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**A/N: Ugh...this took forever to write. Please review and let me know if I made any stupid grammar mistakes because I probably did since it's so late. Also, who should I have win the bet: Zoom or Spinner?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry about the wait. I had a lot of stuff to do. But now I'm back.**

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Diana lied there awake staring at the ceiling. Truth be told she wasn't actually tired, she just needed an excuse to be alone. Telling her story had brought back a lot of bad memories, although it did feel good to have gotten it off her chest. The other reason she left was because she was happy that Tezz had actually shown sympathy for her. She thought that he really didn't like her and that she should move on, but luckily for her, she was wrong. _"It's nice to know I at least have a chance. Even if it's small, it's still something."_ She thought happily. After about 10 minutes, she got bored of just lying around in her room and remembered what Agura had said about her, Zoom, and Spinner being in the game room. Feeling like she doesn't socialize with her other teammates as much, she got up and went to go hang with them.

Okay, so maybe going to the game room to 'socialize' with his teammates wasn't Tezz's best idea. Agura may have been the only somewhat calm one in the room. Zoom and Spinner were still locked in a heated battle, while Vert and AJ had taken sides and were cheering them on. Agura occasionally gave a shout of encouragement whenever one of them was close to losing. Tezz was going to turn around and leave, but AJ had spotted him and called him over. "C'mon dude! You're missing out! Zoom made a serious comeback!"

"Not for long!" Spinner was rapidly jamming buttons on his controller. "Once I- WHAT?! NO!" The words Player 2 Wins flashed on the screen.

"HA! In your face! Hope you like mopping the Hub. Because you're gonna be doing it for the whole week." Zoom was grinning while Spinner smacked his face into the controller.

"How could you beat me? I've won this game like, a hundred times and you beat me!"

"Face it, dude. I'm a better player."

"Are not!"

"Are to!"

"Knock it off you two! Spinner, you lost. Get over it."

"B-but I... He... He cheated!"

"What?! I did not! I beat you fair and square! And that's that!"

"Uh guys...?" Within the next two seconds Zoom and Spinner were arguing, shouting rather, and Vert, AJ, and Agura tried to stop them. Seeing the situation, Tezz decided to book it outta there before he got pulled in as well. Just as the door slid shut behind him someone bumped into him. It was none other than Diana.

"Oh, uh, hi Tezz. What's up?"

"I thought you were sleeping."

"Well, y'know, I uh... couldn't sleep." She was usually pretty good at coming up with excuses, but lying to Tezz was completely different.

"I see." Again, with the awkward silence. It didn't take Diana long to hear the arguing going on behind the door.

"What's goin' on in there?"

"Zoom and Spinner are fighting over their videogame."

"Let me guess. One lost, and the other's not too thrilled?"

"Spinner insists that Zoom cheated."

"I think he doesn't wanna do Zoom's chores for the next week."

"How did you know about their bet?"

"Agura told me. I ran into her while I was heading to the shop. How'd you know?"

"I am just using the information I gathered from being in there before their fight started."

"Can't you ever say anything simply?" Diana chuckled a little. It looks like she was definitely right about Tezz being way too intelligent. "In other words, you're just assuming, right?"

"No."

"Well if no one told you-"

"I spoke to Spinner for a short while when I was looking for you. He said he'd be chore free as soon as he was done 'kicking Zoom's butt.' And they were arguing about in there as well."

"Oh." Now she felt a little stupid. He started to walk away when Diana suddenly had a plan. "Hey. How about I kick your butt at videogames?" He didn't stop walking but turned his head slightly.

"I have more important things to do."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" She started walking after him. _"Let's see if Einstein here can figure out reverse psychology."_

"Like working on important inventions and such."

"Are you sure you're not scared of losing? More specifically to a girl."

"I know what you are trying to do, and I'm not going to fall for it."

_"Dang. He is smart. Well, if I can't trick him, then maybe I can 'convince' him." _"Oh, come on. Don't you wanna take a break from all your 'important inventions and such'? It looks like all you do is work. How about we make a little deal?" They reached his lab, and Tezz stopped at the door.

"Really? A deal? Why are you so willing to try something like that in the first place?" He seemed pretty skeptical about it, and judging by the hint of sarcasm he really wasn't buying it.

"Well, it just seems like you need to be a little more social. And besides, don't you wanna try for the sake of you _winning_?" She put extra emphasis on winning because she was really trying to convince him to say yes.

"Even if I agreed, what would I win?" Diana hesitated. She had no idea what someone like him would even want.

"Um... well, what do you want?" Asking someone what they wanted when making a bet wasn't the smartest move, but it's not like she had any other choice. He probably wouldn't want money, and that was the only thing she could think of. Unless he'd want her to sweep his lab or something. Tezz looked at her for a moment before facing the door. This was a good opportunity for him to learn how smart she really was, since talking to her hadn't gone the way he expected. But even if she accepted his demands, he wasn't so sure about hers. Diana seemed extremely determined, and it was starting to scare him a little. Of course, if he didn't like her demands, he could always back out and say no. Then, if she really wanted to go through with it, she'd change them to something a little more agreeable and he could still find out what he wanted.

_"It's quite brilliant actually." _Even though he was only thinking this, Diana had a feeling that he was going to try something. Tezz may not be very good with people, but anyone with common sense would know how to get what they wanted. She already had a plan: find out what his demands are, and then tell him hers. If he said no, then she'd simply play him like he was going to do her and say that he wouldn't get whatever it is he wants. If he was determined enough, he'd change his mind. "If I win this bet, then you have to take an intelligence test so that I may see just how smart you really are."

"Wha?" That was definitely _not _what she was expecting. She was thinking something like 'Wax my car' or 'Clean up my lab because I can't find my wrench in this pigsty'. But an I.Q. test? He really couldn't come up with anything better? Diana knew that Tezz knew she was determined and hopeful, and was truly surprised that he didn't take advantage of that. But at the same time she was grateful. It would've been worse if he had. "Uh... okay then? I'll do it, but only if you..." She had no idea how to say it. "Only if you go on a date with me."

"A date?"

"One night. That's all I ask." Tezz wasn't expecting her to say something like that. Especially not so bluntly.

"Absolutely not." Diana smirked a little. It looked as if her plan was going smoothly.

"Alright. It's your call." She shrugged and he was confused why she was suddenly okay with it. First she wouldn't lay off, and now she's not even trying. "But I hope you know that you're never gonna find out how smart I am now. Since I know what you're after, all I have to do keep it from you. My demand was simpler than yours, which means you can't take advantage of it like that. But I can use yours and exploit it. Looks like I do sort of win after all." She turned around to make herself look serious but it was really to hide the huge grin on her face. The look Tezz had on his face was priceless, and it was hard for her to not break down into a fit of laughter. She knew he'd give in sooner or later.

"Battle Force 5! A storm shock is opening!" Sage's voice echoed throughout the Hub.

"The deal still stands." Diana said before taking off. Tezz wasn't just shocked, but annoyed and slightly angry at the same time. Not only was he beaten in a battle of wits _again,_ but it was by someone supposedly less intelligent than himself. And he fell for her trick. If Sherman had beaten him, or even Vert, he wouldn't have been so upset. But a newbie? For someone like Tezz it wasn't so easy to swallow. But he'd have to figure it out later. Right now there was a more important situation. He headed to his own car.

Zoom, Spinner, Vert, AJ, and Agura had still been shouting when Sage alerted them to a storm shock. "I got an idea. How about we settle this in the zone?"

"No way, Spinner. This is serious, we need to focus on winning battles not bets." Vert tried to reason with them but it was no use. Sometimes being the leader had its downsides.

"You're on!" Zoom and Spinner shook hands while Vert facepalmed.

"Let's just go." He and the others headed to their vehicles. "Okay guys, it's AJ, Zoom, Diana, and unfortunately for me, the Cortez brothers.

"He's talkin' about you, bro." Sherman only rolled his eyes. "You are so going down Zoom!"

"No way! I beat you once, I'll do it again!" He revved his bike before speeding off.

"Don't let him get a head start!" Spinner practically yelled in Sherman's ear.

"Agh! What's wrong with you today?" He stomped on the gas before Spinner could yell anymore.

"How come I'm being left out? I'm important too y'know!" Stanford wasn't thrilled about being left behind.

"Sorry Stanford. I'll tell ya what though. You can come the next time." Vert left and AJ told Stanford to chill before following Vert.

"You can take my place next time Stanford. Oh, and Tezz. Why don't you think about what I said?" With that Diana sped off to catch up with the others.

"Huh? What'd she tell you?"

"Nothing that would concern you, Stanford." Tezz left, while Stanford looked to Agura who just shrugged.

"So all we have to do is find some key right?"

"That's right. But it won't be easy. We don't know who'll show up once we get there, so be on the lookout. That goes quadruple for you two. I don't want your bet costing us the mission. Got it?"

"Yeah, we got it."

"Uh-huh." Their responses told Vert they wouldn't screw up. They entered the portal and ended up in some sort of factory.

"Whoa. This place is huge." Diana stared in awe at the impressive size of the building they were in.

"Tell me about it. I bet this place has a wicked echo." AJ hit the horn, and the resulting HONK wasn't pleasant to hear. Especially since there was an echo.

"Ugh! It's a good thing Stanford didn't come. Imagine what _his _horn would sound like." Spinner's comment earned a few groans.

"Hm. It seems pretty quiet. And after last time I really don't like it. Zoom, a little recon. Sherman, see if you can locate the key. We'll all stick together. If we do get ambushed again, it's definitely a good idea to stay close." They all followed Vert's orders. After a few minutes Zoom radioed in.

"Vert! Get ready! We're gonna have to deal with some serious Vandal-ism!"

"Got it!"

"Cool. I was lookin' forward to seeing these guys." Diana was looking forward to fighting the Vandals, and by what the others told her they were pretty primitive. So fighting them shouldn't be too much of a problem. But Diana isn't stupid enough to underestimate everybody. In fact, she probably overestimates them.

"Don't think that just because they're low-tech, they can't put up a fight." Vert activated the Saber's blades.

"I never said that. I said I was looking forward to meeting them. With my car to be more specific." Diana activated her guns while everyone got ready. Zoom flew in and joined them.

"There's a pretty large group of them."

"That's okay. What fun would it be without them?" Vert was ready to kick some butt and get the key. The Vandals soon appeared from around a bend, with Kalus in the lead.

"Vandals! Attack!" They charged at them, which was a big mistake since they had AJ there. Most of the Vandals moved, but a few unlucky ones got rammed twice. Once by AJ, and again by Sherman and Spinner.

"Alright guys, let's take 'em out! Zoom, did you find the key?" Vert hit two Vandals with his car, and cut the wheels of one of theirs, causing it to swerve and crash.

"Yeah." He did a wheelie and used the blades in the front wheels to slice through a Vandals car. They ended up flying out and getting stuck underneath it when it flipped. "But it's too high up for me to reach. I'd never get enough air."

"If you can't get to it, maybe it can get to you. Do you think we could pull it down?" Diana was shooting at Vandals, causing most to either flip over or swerve. She could do about as much damage as Stanford could, maybe even more.

"Great idea! But how?"

"Well, maybe I could use my whips. They can grab things y'know. Like this." To demonstrate, Diana grabbed an unsuspecting Vandal and threw him into another. "See?"

"Alright then it's settled. Chopper, Buster, go with Whiplash to the key. AJ and I will try and hold 'em off."

"You got it, Vert! Just let me take out this one Vandal real quick." Spinner's 'one Vandal' turned out to be three. "That's twenty-three. I think I'm beating him." Spinner chuckled while Sherman groaned and Zoom rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah?" He nailed another four Vandals. "Now I'm ahead by two." He took the lead while the others followed, leaving Vert and AJ to fight off the Vandals.

"Uh, are you sure we can take 'em?" AJ had faith in his leader, but to fight all of them at once was crazy.

"Maybe not alone, but I bet RigSaw could take some out!" Vert launched the Fuser and they both drove into the portal.

"Sever, Hatch, stop them from getting the key. Krocomodo and I will handle these two." They all followed Kalus' orders, the former driving off in the direction the others went. Vert and AJ flew out of the portal and crashed directly into the remaining Vandals who were stupid enough to try and take them head on. "Fools. This is how you fight!" He launched a spike ball at them, only to have it sliced in half.

"What's the matter, Kalus? Don't wanna get your nails trimmed?" RigSaw tried to ram into him, but he moved and Krocomodo was hit instead. Before he hit the wall he fired a couple of arrows at them, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the other three were still going for the key. "It's just up ahead." Zoom informed them. They came to a stop in front of a large machine with the key floating high above it.

"Oh man. That is high." Diana wasn't expecting it to be way up there. Getting it was going to be a problem. She was looking around for anything they could use as an assist, but stopped when she noticed something. "Did anyone ever stop and think about what it is this factory makes? I'm not seeing any cobwebs, so it couldn't have just sat that long."

"Diana's right. Judging by my scans most of this stuff is still online, just in standby." Sherman was checking the machines for any information on what they do.

"I don't suppose they happen to make anti-Vandal robots or something, do they? It would be useful." Sever and Hatch had caught up.

"We should probably take them out first. After all, this is gonna require some thinking." Diana charged at them followed by Zoom. Sherman and Spinner stayed where they were to prevent the Vandals from getting any closer. If they got too close, they'd start firing at them to make them back off. Zoom took on Sever while Diana got stuck with Hatch. "Yikes. I can see why I hate bugs."

"Like you're easy on the eyes, sub creature."

"Hey. Don't push it you overgrown roach. There are plenty of exterminators who'd love to squish you. Including me." She sideswiped him and he went behind her to try and hit her with the stinger on his car. "Too easy. I wonder how loud you'd crunch. Let's find out." She jammed on brakes and slammed into him, sending him flying out his car. "You can have this back." She used the whips on her car to grab Hatch's by its stinger and twirled it around until it broke and flew over his head. He climbed back in and sped off.

"Captain Kalus. This new member is too tough to fight."

"You weakling! You didn't even try to fight?!"

"I did, but-"

"No excuses! When I get my claws on you I'll-" He was cut off when Vert and AJ hit him full force and sent him flying. Krocomodo was already out of commission, Hatch had chickened out, Kalus was getting beaten, and Sever wasn't having much luck either. Zoom scratched the side of his car before forcing him into a wall. With all of their vehicles too damaged to fight, and no army left, Kalus had no choice but to retreat. "Retreat to Vandal!" He yelled, signaling them to regroup and book it out of there. They all headed through the portal to their own world just as the fusion wore off.

"That wasn't so tough. Did you guys get the key?" Vert wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

"Negative. It's gonna be hard to get. We could use some help." Zoom and Diana drove back to the location of the key, and Vert and AJ appeared shortly after.

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said it was up there. Maybe we could swap in Agura."

"Nope. Those walls are too smooth to climb. And there's nothing to grab onto."

"Hey bro. Maybe we can use some of the machinery to get Zoom up there. It looks like that assembly line has a couple things hanging off it for him to climb on. All we'd have to is get it moving."

"What?! I'm not breaking my neck climbing on that thing! This is just because I won earlier, isn't it?"

"Not now guys." Vert definitely wasn't in the mood for another fight to break out. "Did you even try to grab it yet, Diana?"

"Oh, no. Let me try." She used her whips to go for it, but when they got near they suddenly burst. "Huh? What was that?"

"There's an electromagnetic field around it. Your whips aren't gonna penetrate that, Diana." Sherman then noticed some of the machinery kick on. "Uhhh... whatever you did made Spinner's plan possible."

"Oh great." Zoom didn't like the idea.

"Sorry Zoom. But we don't have a choice. You're the only one who can get up there, so..."

"I know, I know. Buster lower your ramp." They did just that. "Quick question. I'm not gonna get fried, am I?"

"No. The field's only harmful to anything with an electromagnetic signature." The younger Cortez brother stated. Zoom watched the assembly line for just the right timing. If he was wrong, it'd hurt landing. But he also didn't want to fly into anything that was on the line. Whatever they were. After some calculation, he hit the ramp full speed and went flying into the air. It was just close enough for him to jump off his bike and grab onto one of the things on the line. He swung a few times before letting go, pushing off the wall, and grabbing the key. As he fell back down, AJ moved closer and moved his drill out to allow Zoom to twirl on it a few times to lose some speed and momentum before he let go and landed perfectly.

"Got it."

"Great. Now let's get outta here."

"Yeah. The Chopper's gonna need some repair. But at least it's still in one piece." Zoom and the others drove off and headed back through the Earth portal. Vert then sealed it and they went back to H.Q.

"So, Zoom. How many Vandals did you take out?" Spinner asked in a mock professional tone.

"Oh great. Not this again." Vert might as well have glued his hand to his face.

"Twenty six. How many did you get?"

"Twenty... six. It was a tie?! NO! Rematch in the game room!"

"Fine!" They both went to go settle their argument.

"So who's up for pizza?" AJ asked.

"You guys go ahead. I've got something I need to do."

"Are you sure Diana?"

"I'm sure Sherman. But bring me back a piece of pie. It's really good."

"Okay then." They all left. Now the only ones at the Hub were Sage, who was currently repairing Zoom's bike, Zoom, Spinner, Diana, and Tezz. She went to go see if he had thought about it.

"Did you change your mind yet?" She asked as soon as she walked in his lab. He sighed.

"Fine. I agree." Diana smiled and Tezz suddenly wasn't so sure. She stuck out her hand and he shook it since there was no going back now. Besides, it was just a videogame. How bad could that be?

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**A/N: Okay please review and let me know if I made any mistakes.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: And another chapter is done. Please review.**

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"So... all I have to do is beat you at this video game, and you will show me how smart you really are?"

"I don't know why you're so interested in that, but yeah I will. Only if you beat me, that is."

"But Spinner and Zoom are still in the game room. So we will have to wait."

"Nonsense! I have my laptop in my other car. There's no reason why we can't use that. And I already have some of my favorite games downloaded on it, and I can always just put in a disc. But the screen's kinda small. Hey, maybe you can use one of those holoscreens, or whatever they are."

"That seems like a waste of highly advanced Sentient technology."

"Oh don't be such a killjoy. We're only playing a game. It's not like we're doing anything illegal. So, what game do you want to play? I have racing games, fighting games, and... actually that's pretty much it. I hate sports games and war games."

"Why is that? You seem very energetic."

"Exactly. If I was gonna play a sport, I'd do it for real. I'm not gonna sit on a couch and play football or something. In my opinion, sports games are for people who are either too lazy to go outside, or just can't play." (No offense to those of you who like sports games) Tezz just nodded. "Well, are you gonna get up or what?"

"What do you need me for? I thought you were going to get your laptop."

"Alright. Wait here then." Diana walked out of Tezz's lab and went to retrieve her laptop and a couple of games. Meanwhile, Tezz sat there with his head propped up on one hand, thinking.

_"What did I get myself into? If I do lose, I'm not sure I want to face the consequences. Although she did say it was for one night, and she may not even tell the others. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... But how could I lose? It's just a simple understanding of the game's AI and her tactics." _Diana came back in with a silver laptop and two games.

"I guess it's my lucky day."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I found two of my favorite games. At least, when I'm kicking someone's butt at them. You have a choice between this racing game and this fighting one. Well, the fighting one is more of a blow-your-enemy-to-pieces type thing, but it's not gory or anything, so you don't have to worry about that. I hate blood." She held them up for him to choose. One was Ratchet Deadlocked, and the other was Speed Racer. He knew that Diana had the advantage since he had never played either one.

"Why don't you choose?"

"Awesome." She chose Deadlocked, her obvious favorite. Tezz hooked the laptop up to a holoscreen and Diana loaded up the game.

"Where did you get a laptop that plays videogames, anyway?"

"It was _very _expensive, but well worth it. It took me forever to save up for it." She set the game for two players and they started. On the first try, Tezz really got it handed to him. "Best two outta three?" Diana was grinning at his embarrassment. He nodded and this time, with a few well placed mines, he managed to beat her. "Not bad, hotshot. But now it's time for the tie-breaker."

"Bring it." For once he showed some enthusiasm, and Diana was quite glad to oblige. The last battle went on for a decent amount of time, but in the end Diana was the victor.

"Well, I brought it, and you got it. Let me know when you actually have some free time for that, ahem, date." She smiled and Tezz looked away. "Oh come on. Don't be so upset. I'll tell ya what, I'll answer any questions you have about my I.Q. How's that sound?"

"But I lost the bet."

"So?"

"So, the deal was you tell me about your intelligence if I win, which I did not."

"But there was never anything saying I wouldn't tell you anyway. It's a simple word: loophole. I won, and you're going on a date with me. It doesn't mean you can't ask me about my I.Q. then. I'd be pretty cool with it as long as you don't bring any tests or something. Read between the lines."

"I suppose that makes sense." He really wasn't sure what she was trying to say.

"I'm glad it does." And then she did something he never expected: she kissed him on the cheek before darting out of his lab. It was so fast that by the time his brain registered it, she was already gone. He was glad too, because he didn't want anyone to see how red his face was. He rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed sort of way before turning back to his inventions. In her rush, Diana had left her stuff behind. Shrugging, Tezz moved it somewhere safe where it wouldn't accidentally get blown up by, what the team liked to call, experiments gone awry.

"I suppose I could return these to her tomorrow. She may even come get them herself." He was still a little flustered by the kiss and decided to finish his particle accelerator. He grabbed his tools and started to work.

_"To put it in a way that you would understand, it accelerates particles."_

_"Of what? Your brain?" _Tezz groaned. Maybe he did work too much.

After almost an hour of fighting, Zoom and Spinner finally called it quits. Neither of them were really winning this time, so it ended up being a standstill. "You wanna just swap chores for the week?" Spinner asked, cracking his knuckles from cramps.

"Sure. Why not?" Zoom stood up and stretched. The two walked out of the game room and went their separate ways. Zoom went to go check on his bike, and Spinner went to go bug Tezz.

The lab doors slid open to reveal a stunning sight: Tezz was sitting with his feet up, playing a racing game. He didn't notice Spinner, who began to sneak up on him. He waited until Tezz was about to win before shouting from directly behind him. Tezz jumped and fell out of the chair at Spinner's sudden outburst. "Spinner!" The oldest Cortez was laughing like a maniac, too pleased with his joke to fear Tezz. "Perhaps you would not find it so funny if I stuck you to the ceiling."

"Oh, take it easy. It was only a joke. There's no reason to get all electromagnetism on me." He finally calmed down and held up his hands in defense. "What were you doing anyway? Was that what I think it was?" He was on the verge of laughter again, and Tezz had to think of a quick excuse.

"It's not mine. It's Diana's." Maybe that wasn't the best excuse.

"Ohhhh... really? Awww, how cute."

"What?"

"You know what I mean, Tezz. Just wait till everyone hears about this."

"A-about what?"

"About you having a girlfriend!"

"What?! No! You are very mistaken Spinner! Diana is _not _my girlfriend!" The look on Spinner's face said he wasn't believing one word. "Spinner, I am not lying." He continued to stand there, looking amused. "If you start spreading rumours-" Before Tezz could finish his sentence Spinner was already out the door. "Spinner! I swear when I finish this particle accelerator I will use it to tear you apart!" Tezz's threat did not go unnoticed. Sage and Zoom, who were discussing what the factory's purpose could've been, turned in the direction of the yell and rapid footsteps. Spinner ran past them with a half amused, half frightened look on his face.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"Can't talk now, Sage! Gotta run!" The last of his words echoed from around a corner. Zoom and Sage threw each other confused looks, before Spinner's head appeared from the bend. "By the way, did you know Tezz has a girlfriend?"

"Spinner!"

"Uh oh!" Spinner took off running again, this time with a very angry scientist on his heels. Sage and Zoom had no idea what to do, so they left Spinner to fend for himself. After all, if he got Tezz that angry, he deserved to be punished for what he did. Even if it means they'll probably have to pry him off the front of the Mobi later.

Diana was heading back to her room when she heard yelling. She was going to investigate when the reason why ran right into her. "Diana! Your boyfriend is trying to kill me!"

"Huh?"

"Spinner, I will-"

"Hold on a second! What the heck is going on here?" Diana stood between Tezz and Spinner so they wouldn't kill each other before she got her explanation. Suddenly it clicked, and her face turned bright red. "Boyfriend?!"

"I-I can explain!" Poor Spin was now backing away from two angry teammates. He slipped between them and ran back the way he came while they both hunted him down. Luckily for him, the others had returned.

"And he just took off running with Tezz chasing him?" Vert was just as confused as the others.

"Yeah. Do you know anything about him having a girlfriend?"

"Who? Spinner?"

"No. Tezz." When Zoom said that, it started with Vert silently chuckling, before they all broke out into wild laughter. It didn't take long for Tezz and Diana to walk in.

"Well, if it isn't the man we were all just discussing. So, who's the lucky lady?" Stanford was smirking while Tezz stood there dumbfounded.

"No one." Diana said firmly. "Spinner's being himself again. Where is he?" Diana's usual cheery tone was now dark and serious.

"He's not in the Buster." Everyone turned to look at the large six-wheeler.

"Uh huh." Diana walked over to it and opened the top hatch. "Spinner, I am so gonna kill you."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing Vert. Really. Oh hey did you get my pie?"

"Uh, yeah... Here ya go." Sherman handed her the box and she left. Tezz went back into his lab leaving everyone else confused. Spinner eventually crawled out of the Buster and headed somewhere else. "So... how did your bet go?"

"Uh, it was tie so we agreed to switch chores for the week."

"Oh." After some more awkward silence, everyone went their separate ways. Vert and Agura went to go watch a movie, Zoom, Sherman, Stanford, and AJ went to go hang around in the game room again, while Sage continued to try and figure out why that factory suddenly turned on. According to her data it was shut down a long time ago. She just wasn't sure why.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know how you liked it. Also, I'm not sure if I even have to put this, but I don't own Ratchet or Speed Racer, but the games are fun. I'm also pretty certain that laptops can't play actual video games but wouldn't it be awesome if they could?**


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